A collaboration between the Brigham Young University School of Music and the Percy Grainger Society, Approaches to Performing Grainger Symposium, held between March 27–28, 2026, was billed as “a two-day exploration of the music of Percy Grainger through a consideration of approaches to, and the contexts of, live performance”. The Symposium faithfully lived up to its stated purposes, with four concerts of the music of Grainger, workshops focused on performance issues in the chamber, choral, and band music of Grainger, scholarly presentations on a wide range of topics inspired by the work and life of Grainger, and a communal music-making session with audience singalong featuring an ‘elastic scoring’ performance of Grainger’s Ye Banks and Braes O’ Bonnie Doon

A unique aspect of the Symposium was the opportunity to illustrate scholarly presentations with live music. The Symposium owes much of its success to the generosity and talents of the BYU music students and their teachers in allowing their performances to be “meddled with” by the presenters to illustrate different stylistic approaches. The Keynote Speaker, acclaimed Grainger scholar Teresa Balough, not only presented a thorough and inspirational address to begin the Symposium, but also a stirring presentation on Grainger’s Kipling Jungle Book Cycle, illustrated by choral students of BYU. 

Given that Grainger’s complete works would fill over 25 compact discs, the Symposium was exposed to a commendably wide range of repertoire. Works for wind band, symphony orchestra, chamber groups, voice, chorus, and piano were showcased, with no shying away from the more formidable cornerstones of the Grainger repertoire. Scotch Strathspey and Reel, In Dahomey Cakewalk Smasher, and I’m Seventeen Come Sunday were performed, together with Handel in the Strand in the original orchestral version, along with the 1950 Stokowski-inspired setting of Country Gardens, again in its original orchestral arrangement. Individual students of the BYU vocal area, beautifully supported by collaborative artists from the BYU keyboard area, presented a broad range of Grainger’s solo vocal literature in an hour-long vocal recital. And the BYU keyboard area presented a masterful concert of Grainger’s wide-ranging and intriguing music for piano solo and piano teamwork. 

Many of the students and teachers at BYU had known little or nothing of Grainger before the experience of preparing music for the Symposium. Several of them expressed how impressed they were with Grainger’s inventiveness, and the freshness of his music and treatments: “his music sounds so fresh; he doesn’t sound like an early 20th-century composer.” Their comments reminded one of pianist/composer Ronald Stevenson’s observation that Grainger was a composer not just for the 20th century, but also for the 21st Century. They all endorsed the notion that Grainger art songs would be a strong contender for spots on their up-coming vocal degree recitals. 

The full list of delivered papers is given below, several of which will comprise the next edition of The Grainger Journal, to be published in July 2026.

• Hillsong No. 2: Grainger’s Best Work You’ve Never Heard (Mikayla Black) 
• The Use of Grainger’s Compositions in Teaching Chamber Music Papers (Amy Gabbitas) 
• Grainger for the Percussionist(s) (Jordan Waddell) 
• Percy Grainger’s Use of Baritone and Euphonium in Wind Band Literature (Madeleine Chadwell) 
• The Folk Music and Free Music of Percy Grainger: Fruits of the Same Tree (Chalon Ragsdale) 
• A Visit to Melbourne: Percy Grainger’s Autobiographical Museum (Nathan Haines) 
• Grainger’s Vision: Integrating Non-Orchestral Instruments into Orchestras in Educational Settings (Johannes Bowman) 
• A Carol for the Ages: Grainger, Folk Ritual, and the Sound of Christmas (Alexa Knaupp) 
• The Power of Rome and the Christian Heart: A Conductor’s Journey (Joanne Heaton) 
• The Juba Triangle: Dett, Grainger, and Sousa (David Reynolds) 
• Percy Grainger in the Words of Frederick Fennell: An Audio History (Nate Seamons) 
• The Rainbow: the genesis of a new “Grainger” work (Allen Feinstein) 
• A Cylinder of Wax: Reimagining Percy Grainger Through Historic House Music (Jason Green) 
• Architecture & Inspiration: Percy Grainger's Home & Studio (Curt Ebersole) 
• Letting in the Jungle: Percy Grainger’s Kipling “Jungle Book” Cycle (Teresa Balough) 

Brigham Young University provided outstanding support for the two-day seminar. The facilities and resources of the BYU School of Music and BYU Continuing Education worked together to provide a seamless and supportive atmosphere for the Symposium attendees. Every concern was seen to thoughtfully and supportively. The two-day Approaches to Performing Grainger Symposium was truly a model for the management of future events. 

The Percy Grainger Society wishes to direct its appreciation especially to BYU faculty organizers Dr. Brent Wells, Dr. Nate Seamons, and Prof. Jihea Hong-Park for their dedication and skill. We also appreciate the efforts of Dr. Shawn Smith, Director of the Brigham Young University School of Music, and Dr. Diane Reich, Dean of the BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications, for their outstanding support and hospitality. 

Chal Ragsdale, April 6, 2026, Percy Grainger Society